Funding options

Employment disputes and related claims take a wide variety of forms.  Most claims tend to be fact specific.  The total cost of our service in dealing with claims very much depends upon the issues to be determined for example whether or not there is simply one claim eg. for unfair dismissal or potentially related claims eg. unfair dismissal linked to some form of discrimination.

There are a number of possible funding options available to Clients who are contemplating bringing an Employment Tribunal claim.  We will advise you on the various options but in summary they comprise:-

  1. You may have Legal Expenses Insurance with your Home Buildings and Contents Policy which will cover the bringing of Employment Tribunal claims subject to approval by your Insurer.

  2. Depending on an assessment of the merits of the case we may be prepared to provide funding of the case on the basis of a Damages Based Agreement (DBA).  This is a form of No Win No Fee Agreement.  In summary, if the claim is ultimately successful then our fee will be taken as a percentage of any compensation recovered in settlement of the claim or following an order by the Tribunal.  The current percentage is 35% of compensation recovered.  This figure is inclusive of VAT at the current rate.

  3. We can undertake the work on a standard hourly charging rate.  For a Senior Solicitor the hourly charging rate is £198 +VAT (£237.6) per hour.  For an Assistant Solicitor it is £174+VAT (£208.80) per hour.

Range of costs

Subject to agreeing the most appropriate method of funding for your claim we set out below our pricing for bringing and/or defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal.  As mentioned above the fees may be increased if the fee involves additional complaints to the Tribunal eg. discrimination. 

Our range of costs is as follows:-

  1. For a simple case from commencement through to Tribunal £3,500 to £5,000 excluding VAT( £4200 - £6000 including VAT)

  2. Medium complexity case from commencement through to Tribunal - £5,000 to £10,000 excluding VAT (£6000 - £12,000 including VAT)

  3. High complexity case - £10,000+ excluding VAT (£12,000 including VAT).  A high complexity case would require us to specifically discuss with you the overall potential costs liability in the claim. 

Factors that could make a case more complex

  • If it is necessary to make or defend applications made by your opponent, or to provide further information about an existing claim

  • Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person

  • Making or defending a costs application

  • Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties

  • The number of witnesses and documents involved in the claim

  • If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer

  • Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal

There may also be additional costs in terms of attending the Tribunal Hearing if your case was particularly complicated or if you chose on our advice to instruct Counsel to represent you at the Hearing.

Disbursements

There are currently no fees charged by the Employment Tribunal to commence a claim.  The most common disbursement incurred in an Employment Tribunal claim would be in relation to Counsels fees.  The fees that might be charged by Counsel to represent you at the Hearing of the claim will depend upon the seniority and/or experience of the chosen Counsel.  We would agree a fee estimate with Counsel and yourself before instructing further.

Key stages

The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

  • Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)

  • Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;

  • Preparing claim or response

  • Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party

  • Exploring settlement and negotiating settlement throughout the process

  • preparing or considering a schedule of loss

  • Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing

  • Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents

  • Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses

  • preparing bundle of documents

  • Reviewing and advising on the other party's witness statements

  • agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list

  • Preparation and attendance at Final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel

The stages set out above are an indication and if some of stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged on your individual needs.

How long will my matter take?

The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved. If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation your case is likely to take 6 to 8 weeks. However if your claim proceeds to a final hearing your case is likely to take between 26 and 36 weeks. This is just an estimate and we will of course be able to give you a more accurate timescale once we have more information and is the matter progresses.

WHO WILL DEAL WITH MY MATTER?

Employment matters are supervised by Warren Spencer.

Call 01253 629300 for quote based on your personal circumstances or click here to send us a message and we’ll call you back.